niewinsgewende

Niewinsgewende is an adjective used in Dutch-language and Afrikaans-influenced discourse to describe something that does not generate financial profit. It characterizes activities, organizations, or policies whose primary aim is not to earn money but to pursue public, social, cultural, educational, charitable, or other non-commercial objectives.

In usage, niewinsgewende can modify nouns such as instelling (organization), project, or dienst (service) to indicate non-profit or non-commercial purpose. For example, a niewinsgewende instelling refers to a non-profit organization, and a niewinsgewende projek would describe a project funded by donations, subsidies, or grants rather than by sales revenue. Spelling and hyphenation vary by language: in Afrikaans nie-winsgewende is common, while Dutch contexts may render it as niewinsgewende or niet-winstgevende.

Relation to related terms varies by jurisdiction. It is conceptually aligned with non-profit, nonprofit, or not-for-profit designations in English, and it often overlaps with entities that operate on a mission rather than a profit motive. However, being niewinsgewende does not automatically determine a specific legal or tax status; tax exemptions and regulatory treatment depend on national or regional law and can differ widely.

Financially, niewinsgewende entities may still handle money, run budgets, and even report surpluses, but any surplus is typically reinvested in the entity’s mission rather than distributed to owners or shareholders.

See also: non-profit organization, charitable organization, tax-exemption, not-for-profit.